Michal Kaňka, Jaromir Klepáč - Russian Works for Cello & Piano (2003)

For the casual fan of cello music, this four-disc set of Russian works for cello and piano may seem like far too much of a good thing. After all, the cello sonatas of Rubinstein, Myaskovsky, and Borodin are anything but standard repertoire. For the dedicated fan of cello music, this set may not seem up to the level of the great performances of the past. After all, Rostropovich has already recorded Prokofiev's Cello Sonata accompanied by Richter in the presence of the composer and Shostakovich's Cello Sonata accompanied by the composer and these performances are understandably hard to top for expressivity and authenticity. But for the deeply dedicated fan of Russian music, this set will be just the thing to fill out the corners in their collection. For them, the performances by cellist Michal Kanka and pianist Jaromir Klepác (and cellist Marek Jerie and pianist Ivan Klánsky for the Shostakovich) may not scale the same heights as Rostropovich, but by virtue of having recorded works Rostropovich never recorded, they are still in a class of their own. For them, the opportunity to hear superbly played and deeply committed performances of rarely recorded works by accomplished Czech artists will be inducement enough to pick up this set and discover the bravura excitement of Rubinstein's sonatas, the anguished romanticism of Myaskovsky's sonatas, and, best of all, the loving lyricism of Borodin's sonata for themselves. Praga's sound is crisp, clean, and deep.